LONDON — Kevin Spacey was found not guilty Wednesday of sexually assaulting four men, capping off a monthlong high-profile case in the British capital at which he and all of his accusers testified.
Spacey, 64, wiped tears away after the jury verdict was delivered at London’s Southwark Crown Court. Placing his hand on his chest, he looked at the jurors and mouthed “thank you” twice before they left the room.
Spacey, who won an Oscar for best actor in the 1999 film “American Beauty,” said outside the court that he was “humbled” by the jurors’ decision and “enormously grateful” to them “for having taken their time and care to analyze the evidence.”
The charges, including sexual assault, related to allegations going back two decades. During the trial, prosecutor Christine Agnew characterized Spacey, who was identified in court by his full name, Kevin Spacey Fowler, as a “sexual bully” who aggressively grabbed men by the crotch and “delights in making others feel powerless and uncomfortable.”
The jury of three women and nine men was also told Spacey grabbed one man’s crotch “like a cobra” when he was the artistic director of London’s Old Vic Theatre in the mid-2000s after an alleged “barrage of vile comments.”
An aspiring actor also told the court of an alleged incident in the late 2000s in which “things went further” — claiming he woke up to find Spacey performing a sex act on him.
Spacey, who took the stand this month, said that he did perform oral sex on one of the accusers but that it was consensual.
He also described one of the men’s claims as “madness” and said another alleged assault was a “clumsy pass.” He contested the evidence of a third complainant, saying any “romantic” touching was consensual.
The charges dated from 2004 to 2013, when Spacey was the Old Vic’s artistic director. He faced seven counts of sexual assault, one of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and one of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity.
None of the four complainants can be named, as they are afforded lifelong anonymity under English law.
During the trial, Spacey mentioned a number of famous names, telling the jury that he had given a pingpong table to Dame Judi Dench after they worked on a movie together. Elton John was also called as a defense witness.
Prosecutors said in a statement that they “respect” the decision of the court and that it was “the role of the jury to consider the charges and we respect the decision of the court.”
CORRECTION (July 26, 2023, 9 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misspelled the first name of the actor to whom Spacey said he gave a pingpong table. She is Dame Judi Dench, not Judy.
